


we won't be alone

by astralsheith (creativesuperhero)



Series: sheith new year week [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, M/M, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Pre-Relationship, Season 7 finale coda, Shiro POV, kosmo knows what's UP, maybe some
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 10:50:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17303261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creativesuperhero/pseuds/astralsheith
Summary: In the wake of the lion's fall to Earth, Shiro and Kosmo wait for Keith to wake.





	we won't be alone

**Author's Note:**

> combined days three and four of sheith new year week, kosmo and family! 
> 
> title is from vance joy's "we're going home". 
> 
> all editing is mine, all mistakes are mine. kudos & comments are appreciated <3 
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Keith’s hospital room was too quiet. 

It had been days since the Lions had fallen to Earth after defeating the mysterious silver mech, days since the Garrison managed to track every Lion down and bring them home, days since they’d managed to stabilise each of the paladins and breath a sigh of relief that they’d all survived the crash through Earth’s atmosphere. 

Shiro had rarely left Keith’s side since they’d settled him into a hospital bed. He knew he had responsibilities to attend to, work to lead in the wake of Sendak’s defeat, questions to answer about the Atlas and its newly-discovered abilities. As much as Keith’s vitals had remained stable, Shiro couldn’t bring himself to leave Keith alone while he recovered. They’d sent out a transmission to Krolia and Kolivan but there hadn’t been a reply yet. 

A huff and a low whine drew Shiro’s attention to the corner of the room, where Kosmo had been sleeping on a pile of spare hospital blanket provided by one of the nurses. His electric blue markings glowed in the dim, artificial light of the hospital, and his paws clicked against the floor as he trotted towards Keith’s bedside and where Shiro sat in an old, non-ergonomic chair. Kosmo paused a moment to lick softly at Keith’s hand that rested so still and pale and small atop the orange bedcover. 

“Hey, buddy,” Shiro said softly as Kosmo whined softly again at Keith’s lack of response before pushing his head towards Shiro, silently demanding affection. Shiro scratched at the place where Kosmo’s sky blue ruff began around his shoulders, the fur nothing like any dog fur Shiro had ever touched. It was gossamer fine, as if it would dissolve between Shiro’s fingers, yet dense, almost woven. Tingling static scattered across the nerves in Shiro’s human fingers as he ran his fingers through Kosmo’s fur. 

His grandfather had loved dogs but never had one due to severe allergies, and he’d passed said allergy onto his father, who’d passed the allergy to Shiro himself. Him and his grandfather had had an old, cranky black rescue cat called Pluto that didn’t make it into Shiro’s teenage years and after that, there had been no time or room in Shiro’s life for pets. He hadn’t any sort of reaction to Komso since meeting him and he didn’t know if that was because of his cloned body, refined to perfect weapon-grade, or if it was because Kosmo wasn’t a canine from Earth. 

Shiro rummaged in the bag of jerky he’d managed to search out for Kosmo, who chewed happily on the dried meat, licking Shiro’s hand in thanks. 

“You’re worried about him, too, huh?” Shiro asked Kosmo quietly. Kosmo gazed up at him with alien yellow eyes, shining with strange and unknown intelligence. Keith and Kosmo understood each other on some deep level that Shiro was a little in awe of but Kosmo was clearly an intelligent animal on his own. 

Kosmo huffed in what Shiro assumed was agreement and laid his large head down over Shiro’s lap, who resumed stroking at his ruff. The repetitive action helped to soothe the anxiety that lived underneath Shiro’s calm demeanour, sparking like split livewires. Keith’s vitals were stable, had been for days, yet the sight of his smooth, still face in dreamless unconsciousness burrowed itself like a twisting corkscrew in Shiro’s gut. 

He had no illusions he’d come incredibly close to losing Keith. 

The door to the hospital room slid open with a pneumatic hiss, alerting Shiro to Veronica standing in the doorway, her Garrison uniform worn and disheveled. Kosmo perked up too, ears twitching to attention. 

“We’ve received a reply from Krolia and Kolivan,” Veronica said, voice steady with professionalism, “they’re on their way, along with the Blades they’ve managed to reunite.” 

* * *

Shiro’s speech to the assembled Coalition left him with a strange, bone-deep exhaustion. He’d done his best to speak to the grief everyone was feeling after three years of Galra rule on Earth and three years of violent chaos in the wider universe but also inspire hope in people, that all was not lost, that the people who had been lost and sacrificed themselves would not have their deaths be in vain. 

He politely excused himself from the gathering, wanting a moment alone to himself to process the trials they’d faced and overcome, and the trials that lay ahead, unknown and shrouded in darkness. Maybe he’d visit the memorial wall. 

Shiro was walking so briskly towards the Garrison’s main building that when Kosmo appeared in front of him in a burst of glittering blue light he almost stumbled. Kosmo’s wolfish face was alight with joy, his tail fluffed up and wagging behind him. Shiro had never seen him so animated, the cosmic wolf usually so calm and dutiful. 

“Kosmo,” Shiro said in surprise as Kosmo bounded towards him, “what are you doing here, buddy? Is Keith okay?” 

He couldn’t imagine Kosmo being excited by Keith being in trouble yet the thought shot worry through Shiro’s chest, cold as ice. Unless - 

“Did Keith wake up?” 

Before Shiro could say anything else, Kosmo had his front paws against his chest in the imitation of a hug, and then they blinked out of the physical plane in a burst of startling light. Shiro had never teleported with Kosmo before, and it was a surreal experience of sudden light, and then nothing, not even darkness, and then him and Kosmo burst into existence again in the middle of Keith’s hospital room. 

Kosmo jumped back down onto four paws, before Shiro had to worry about taking the brunt of the large wolf’s weight, and Shiro took a moment to reorient himself. Kolivan was sat in the window sill, looking more relaxed than Shiro had ever seen him, and Krolia was sitting at the bottom of Keith’s bed. Keith’s bed that had an awake Keith, bandage still wrapped around his head but sitting up against a pillow. 

“Shiro!” Keith exclaimed, eyes lighting up with sparkling joy. Kosmo had leaped up onto Keith’s bed, laying himself out over Keith’s legs, drooling all over the hospital sheets in happiness. 

“Keith,” Shiro said, almost breathless, “you’re - you’re awake.”

Krolia smiled at him softly as he carefully approached Keith’s bedside, not wanting to intrude on Keith’s time together with his family. Relief was buzzing in Shiro at the sight of Keith awake, eyes tired but alert and happy, surrounded by people who cared about him. 

“Heh, apparently I was the last one, too,” Keith said ruefully, lips twitching. 

“I’m sure the others will be excited to see you’re awake,” Shiro assured him, smoothing out a wrinkle in the bedding with his prosthetic hand. “I - I’m so glad to see you’re awake, too, Keith.” 

“The medical staff told us how much time you spent by Keith’s bedside, watching over him,” Krolia said and Shiro wondered if he was imagining the heat in his face or whether he actually blushing. Krolia continued, “Thank you for taking care of him, Shiro.” 

“He would have done the same for me,” Shiro said quietly, shifting his gaze from Krolia’s face - such a mirror of her son’s - and back to Keith, who gazed up at him from the hospital bed with soft, almost bashful eyes. 

_He_ has _done the same for me_ , Shiro thought to himself. 

Shiro tried not to startle when Keith reached across the small distance between his hand and Shiro’s prosthetic from where they still rested on the hospital bed, and gently curled his slender, strong fingers around Shiro’s metal ones. It was such a small moment, the slightest of touches, yet bubbles of warmth where floating up inside Shiro’s chest, yearning to be set free. 

“You should sit, Shiro,” Krolia said warmly, “family’s allowed, after all.” 

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on twitter, tumblr, and pillowfort @ astralsheith!


End file.
